'archegonial' originates from New Latin, specifically the word 'archegonium', which in turn comes from Greek 'arkhēgonion', where the prefix 'arkhē-' (ἀρχή) meant 'beginning, chief' and the root 'gónos' (γόνος) meant 'seed, offspring'.

'archegonial' developed in English through Neo-Latin/New Latin botanical usage: New Latin 'archegonium' was borrowed from Greek 'arkhēgonion', and the English adjective was formed by adding the Latin adjectival suffix '-al' to denote 'relating to'.

Initially the root referred specifically to the structure 'archegonium'; over time the adjectival form 'archegonial' came to mean 'pertaining to or bearing archegonia' more generally in botanical descriptions.